Younger children in US could have access to vaccinations against COVID-19 by Halloween, CNN reported on Monday.

Dr Scott Gottlieb, the former commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and a current board member at Pfizer (NYSE:PFE), was quoted as telling CBS' "Face the Nation" on Sunday that the company is expected to have data on vaccinations for children ages 5 to 11 ready for the FDA by the end of September 2021.

Gottlieb said: "The FDA says it will be a matter of weeks, not months, to make a determination if they're going to authorize vaccines for kids between 5 to 11. I interpret that to be perhaps four weeks, maybe six weeks."

However, the US FDA while hopeful that vaccines for young children will soon be available, cautioned parents not to race to vaccinate their children before approval from the agency.

The FDA stated: "Children are not small adults - and issues that may be addressed in paediatric vaccine trials can include whether there is a need for different doses or different strength formulations of vaccines already used for adults."